i've been trying to improve my pocketing accuracy and simultaneously my sometimes-comical position play (aren't we all), but having trouble focusing on both; often i'll take -- and make -- a difficult series of pots intentionally as a drill, each time picking the hardest open shot on the table. only to realize later that it was sheer luck that i even Had a shot to play next, easy or hard. duh.
so i figured i could make the drill more useful by instead taking shots that were tough Either potting- or position-wise, while calling what the next ball would be, and forcing myself to stay with that selection. and it worked! that helped me stay focused on both things.
just after that realization it ocurred to me that this might be an easy answer to how to play against my friends who are more casual about the game (besides playing lefthanded, which is probably more like the ability discrepancy, and would also be useful for me, but some of them would find insulting).
i have an instinctive dislike of normal handicapping, even when applied to frequent players; it seems so arbitrary, just picking a number which is loosely related to the players' previous playing. i've also heard several comments from some better players here that they find it really frustrating at times.
a different way of handicapping -- i'm not thinking this one is the only possibility -- could make the process both fairer and more interesting as well.
this particular suggestion penalizes the better player for missing position outright. it also takes away playing for any one of a loose cluster of balls in an area, and in fact, a lot of area position play.
just to riff on it a little, the next level could be you have to call the pocket as well as the next ball, removing another level of looseness. another obvious step would be to call the next 2 balls, etc. i've heard stories of the oldtimers calling the next shot after the break, which could be a more subtle adjustment between two better players.
in the case of extremely different skill levels, you could even keep it fun if one player has to play rotation. [!]
am i reinventing the wheel here? are there other ideas, maybe drawn from 9-ball bets? does it lead in a useful direction?
so i figured i could make the drill more useful by instead taking shots that were tough Either potting- or position-wise, while calling what the next ball would be, and forcing myself to stay with that selection. and it worked! that helped me stay focused on both things.
just after that realization it ocurred to me that this might be an easy answer to how to play against my friends who are more casual about the game (besides playing lefthanded, which is probably more like the ability discrepancy, and would also be useful for me, but some of them would find insulting).
i have an instinctive dislike of normal handicapping, even when applied to frequent players; it seems so arbitrary, just picking a number which is loosely related to the players' previous playing. i've also heard several comments from some better players here that they find it really frustrating at times.
a different way of handicapping -- i'm not thinking this one is the only possibility -- could make the process both fairer and more interesting as well.
this particular suggestion penalizes the better player for missing position outright. it also takes away playing for any one of a loose cluster of balls in an area, and in fact, a lot of area position play.
just to riff on it a little, the next level could be you have to call the pocket as well as the next ball, removing another level of looseness. another obvious step would be to call the next 2 balls, etc. i've heard stories of the oldtimers calling the next shot after the break, which could be a more subtle adjustment between two better players.
in the case of extremely different skill levels, you could even keep it fun if one player has to play rotation. [!]
am i reinventing the wheel here? are there other ideas, maybe drawn from 9-ball bets? does it lead in a useful direction?
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